Those crazy Chinese fish that knock out boaters will make all of us stay low in the water. The flying carp are violent and ready to attack. The fish have now been spotted near La Crosse in the Mississippi River, the first time in Minnesota or Wisconsin.

A man who is committed to a state hospital as a dangerous sex offender hit some speed bumps when he tried to change his name. One judge objected, but was recently overrruled. Why was he denied the chance to change his name back to his birth name? From the PiPress: "We have an individual who has been convicted of person crimes -- serious person crimes in my opinion -- and secondly, an individual who was committed indefinitely," she said. "Given those two factors, we look at what the safety would be to the community. Taking those in consideration, we felt it was appropriate to object."

Pawlenty met with President-elect Barack Obama in Philadelphia to discuss economic struggles at the state levels. Pawlenty wasn't standing behind the latest stimulus packaged proposed by the Democrats that would include more spending for infrastructure projects and Medicaid. The Star Tribune notes this is a change for Pawlenty, who asked for more health care funding in the last package as chairman of the National Governors Association.

The Star Tribune's best columnist, Katherine Kersten, decided to make up a pretend Senate recount scenario, based in the future, instead of spewing crazy half-truths. She envisions a 2015 Supreme Court decisions saying Al Franken should have won. And who is on the high court? Al Gore. Oh, and Franken is the Obama administration's ambassador to the Vatican. Is this the Strib's sad attempt at comedy? Not funny.

No need for late-night spectacles at the state Capitol. The state has been shutting off the lights at 11 p.m. to save 10 percent on energy costs. It sounds like a smart plan to us. Isn't St. Paul empty by 6 p.m. every night anyway?